In addition, mixing fowl with different traits promotes pecking. For example, if feather-legged, crested, or bearded fowl are raised with birds without these traits, curiosity can lead the less-feathered birds to peck the feathers of their flock mates.
Abrupt changes in management practices or the environment can stress birds and lead to aggression. If you plan to move young birds to a new location, it is best to move some of their feeders and waterers with them in order to help them adapt.
When you introduce larger feeders and waterers, it is helpful to leave the smaller equipment in the pen for a few days to help during the transition.
Providing appropriate nest boxes and laying conditions for laying hens will help prevent cannibalism. Do not place bright lights near the nesting areas. A dark nest box gives a hen a safe place to lay eggs and prevents exposure of the everted cloaca, which occurs when an egg is laid.
Because the cloaca is highly attractive for pecking, some outbreaks of cannibalism begin during egg laying. It is relatively easy to monitor feather pecking, and you do not need to handle the hens to determine whether feather pecking is taking place. Assign each hen one of the following feather scores as appropriate:.
In addition to ensuring that birds have an appropriate diet and an environment free of the stressors discussed above, a key step in preventing cannibalism is to select genetic stock that is not prone to cannibalism. Some poultry producers claim that certain breeds are more prone to cannibalism. Feather pecking is a heritable trait, and breeders and producers can select for fewer feather-pecking traits in breeding chickens. Most cannibalism occurs during feather growth in young fowl.
Slow-feathering birds are most prone to cannibalism because they have immature, tender feathers exposed for long periods of time, leaving the birds open to damage from pecking. Do not raise slow-feathering birds with other types of fowl. Although it is better to prevent cannibalism, should an outbreak occur, it is essential to stop the behavior quickly before it spreads throughout the flock. A variety of methods are available to help accomplish this objective, although it is difficult to stop a substantial outbreak altogether.
Some corrective steps include the following:. Enrichment devices made of string have also been shown to redirect pecking. Four to eight lengths of white polypropylene twine hung in the cage or pen should elicit pecking and may prevent aggressive pecking toward flock mates. Ideally, poultry should be allowed protected outdoor access where they can display the full range of their natural foraging and exploratory behaviors. Skip to content Written by : Dr. Jacquie Jacob, University of Kentucky Within flocks, chickens and other types of poultry have a social hierarchy referred to as a pecking order.
Overheating High temperatures cause birds to become uncomfortable and prone to pecking. Excessive light The number of hours of light you provide a flock and the intensity of the light can influence cannibalistic behavior. Inadequate nutrition It is important to provide your birds with a well-balanced diet and an ample supply of water.
Injured or dead birds left in the flock Because chickens are attracted to blood, cannibalism outbreaks can be initiated by the injury of one bird and subsequent pecking of the injury by a flock or cage mate. Flock size The hierarchical social order of poultry in small flocks depends on individual recognition. Flocks of different ages and colors Combining birds of different ages, breeds, colors, or sizes that have not been reared together often upsets the social order of a flock and increases the chances of cannibalism.
This gives the bullied chicken an opportunity to eat whenever the bully is not around. However sometimes bullies will guard the feeders and waterers all the time so more serious intervention will be needed. You can consider separation at this point. For temporary separation you can use a chicken crate. Another sign that the pecking is getting out of hand is chicken stress.
Just like with food, stress can show itself in a variety of ways including weight loss and loss of feathers. Stress and anxiety can also cause skittishness and personality changes.
If your once-cuddly chicken suddenly stops running up to you at feeding time then they may be afraid of the rest of the flock and stop being friendly. Like with food and water, more drastic measures like separation should be used at this point to isolate the bullies. Although chicken bullying is generally done without any specific purpose there are some common causes of pecking that make it more likely for chickens to start bullying each other.
A lack of resources will also cause competition between members of the flock. This encourages pecking between the more assertive members of the flock and the weaker ones. By providing enough space and resources, such as more feeders and waterers, weaker birds will be able to eat and drink without having to compete. It is also important to have enough space for chickens to live if they are kept in a run. This discourages competition and gives them enough space to run from the bullies if the situation turns for the worst.
Enough perches should also be provided in order to provide some safe, high spaces for the chickens to escape too. This is because if it is too hot your chickens will be uncomfortable. They will peck and bully other chickens in order to relieve their frustrations at the uncomfortable temperature. Clean and cool water should always be provided. Ventilation should also be provided in order to cool down the area. Too much light can lead to chickens becoming aggressive with each other.
In general it is best to not use any lighting in the coop and let the chickens follow the natural rhythm of daylight. Make sure that your chickens are receiving a healthy diet by using a high quality feed that includes all the necessary nutrients. Also it is also important that your chickens are receiving a lot of water in their diet, so providing a constant supply of freshwater is extremely important.
A lack of salt in the diet can specifically cause pecking at the preen gland. This gland produces an oil that chickens use to groom themselves. Chickens will naturally always peck at each other but will gain significant interest if the chicken does not react or is unable to react due to injury.
This is dangerous because it can swiftly become an unhealthy behavior. When I first got chicks feels like forever ago lol, for the first 2 days I didn't put the waters up on blocks to keep them off the shavings and the chicks would flick the bedding all over in the water leaving them without water while I was at work! This can also cause pecking. Hmm good things to think about, I do just have the one long metal feeder and one waterer. They seem like they have allot of room now though, I mean they run all over the place and all seem to have plenty of space.
Is it possible to just have one thats a bully? It seems like the one chick pics at others till it bleeds then they gang up. Last edited: Mar 8, Yes, it is possible.
But yes if one chick gets pecked by another and bleeds that wound is like a bullseye for the rest of them to just attack at But I would recomend that if others begin to peck at each other its time for more space. They grow so quickly in a weeks time they will double there size.
So just be prepared to move them sooner then later! ShortAnda In the Brooder 8 Years. Jan 13, 21 0 I would remove any suspected bullies from the group immediatly and see if that helps. I've raised certain breeds that are just plain nasty and mean Am In the Brooder 7 Years. Mar 8, 20 2 24 Oregon. ShortAnda said:. Click to expand Hoosierchickens Songster 9 Years. Jan 9, 7 Cloverdale, IN.
By SS do you mean Speckled Sussex? I have Speckled Sussex and have not had problems with pecking. They tend to be pretty friendly and docile and get along well with each other. You may just have a bully. If that's the case, I would cull the bully. The behavior is unlikely to remedy itself and it may turn that aggression on humans. In my recent batch of chicks I got a mix of standards and bantams. I separated the standards and bantams into respective brooders.
One of the bantam Buff Brahma's was bullying the other bantams so I put him in with the standards. They put him in his place quickly and he straightened up. After about a week I put him back in with the rest of the bantams who established their pecking order and the brahma has been docile since.
If that didn't work I would have just culled that chick. Hey folks, just wanted to update the thread for posterity. Basically we had a speckled sussex chick that was being very aggressive, and pecking the other chicks until they started bleeding. Once this happened the rest would join in at the sight of blood and peck the injured one to death. I have one female hen that has pecked nearly all the feathers off of another females head.
She only seems to pick on this one poor hen. Red Rhodes are the bullies, as i watch. My lovely 2 Amber Stars are being bullied. My hens have just started feather packing my cockerel making him bleed. They have lots of room evenings fact live a life of luxury. They get ad lib food plus seeds and greens every day. I have had to remove him to the potting shed so he can heal. Have you any idea what I can do? I have sprayed him with anti peck spray. Hi Patricia, it sounds like you might have a pecking order and aggression issue instead of a housing issue.
I really recommend this story, which was written by Tamsin Cooper who follows the latest scientific research on animal behavior and mentors on chicken welfare online courses. Good luck! She is the only one laying eggs. She began chasing one of the other hens after she, herself, began to lay. We put in another nest, just in case another hen was ready to start laying. For now I have separated the two to avoid further abuse.
When they are together, she goes for the other, very aggressively. What do you think happened?
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